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Irish Independent
07-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Government faces demands for State payments of over €450 per week for workers hit by US tariffs
Owen Reidy, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said the maximum level of a new jobseekers benefit would not 'cut it' for staff in the pharma and food and drinks sector. He was speaking after Ictu and Ibec sent a letter to Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary seeking a 'higher new scheme rate' for those facing temporary lay-off or short time working. The new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit (JPRB) is capped at €450 a week. 'If we want to protect high skilled jobs, we need to keep people connected to employment, as close enough to the rate of pay as possible,' said Mr Reidy. 'If we don't do that, these people will move to other industries and sectors and those skill sets will be lost.' He said a 'bespoke' benefit is necessary for staff in the pharma and food and drinks sector. An Ibec spokesperson said the new JPRB scheme should be amended to support those experiencing short-time working at a higher new scheme rate. She said training should also be facilitated from day one of unemployment. However, she said the business organisation is not seeking an increase in the €450 cap for the new JPRB scheme for individuals who are made redundant. 'However, for employees who are placed on short-time working the social protection payment has remained as a flat rate payment irrespective of earnings,' she said. ADVERTISEMENT Learn more Meanwhile, a senior Siptu official said Donald Trump's tariff threat will have an impact on future film productions by US companies in Ireland even if he does not carry through on it. He called for an Irish film industry stakeholder meeting in light of the US president's threat to implement major tariffs on foreign films. Siptu sector organiser, Robbie Purfield, said the film and TV industry supports a large number of jobs in Ireland. He said stakeholders within the industry must discuss a unified approach to what is a threat to 'all our livelihoods'. Mr Purfield said the US market is perhaps more important to the industry in Ireland than it is to any other country due to our 'cultural affinity and shared language'. 'As the union which organises film crew throughout Ireland, Siptu wishes to discuss with producers, government agencies and others in the artistic sector how best we can protect our world renowned industry from what will hopefully just be a short term shock,' he said. Irish Equity president, Gerry O'Brien, said the industry is a global one and US productions need international markets and revenues to survive. 'This will affect the livelihoods of thousands of performers and crew across the globe and lead to a slowdown in production here,' he said.
Irish Independent
02-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Government urged to address social welfare payments for workers facing temporary lay-offs due to US tariffs
A joint letter from the leaders of Ibec and Ictu to Social Protection Minister Dara Calleary asks that he urgently enhance financial supports for employees facing temporary lay-offs or short-time working 'during this period of heightened economic uncertainty'. Ibec CEO Danny McCoy and general secretary of Ictu, Owen Reidy said the current system of support is not fit for purpose and needs to be reformed. They said the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit scheme should be amended. The letter, which was copied to Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke and Higher Education Minister James Lawless last week, said the new benefit that links jobseeker payments to former wages excludes workers whose hours may be cut. It said their organisations strongly supported the new Jobseeker's Pay-Related Benefit (JPRB) and believed that it is an important enhancement to the social welfare system. 'The new scheme, however, specifically excludes training activity during the first 26 weeks of receipt and also stipulates that recipients must be fully unemployed, i.e. those put on short-time working cannot avail of the scheme,' it said. 'While such workers can avail of the existing short-time working scheme, the daily rate payment is almost half of that available under the new JPRB.' They said many workers would be better off financially if made fully unemployed so that they can receive the higher weekly JPRB payment rather than continuing to work reduced days with their employer. 'This anomaly needs to be urgently addressed,' they said. 'We are concerned that many of our members are experiencing demand shocks as a result of the US tariffs and the wider economic uncertainty and supply-chain disruption that they are causing.' ADVERTISEMENT Learn more They said Ibec strongly believes that the State should seek to keep workers who face reduced working days or temporary lay-offs connected to their employers during this period of economic disruption. Workers should be encouraged to take up training and reskilling opportunities from the first day of unemployment, the business and worker representatives said. They recommended that the new JPRB scheme be amended to support those experiencing short-time working at a higher new scheme rate and that training be facilitated from day one of unemployment. 'Depending on demand, additional funding may also need to be allocated to support suitable training and upskilling initiatives for these workers,' the letter said. More than 2,500 people who lost their jobs have received up to €450 a week since the new pay-related jobseeker's benefit was rolled out from March 31. Those who have paid at least five years of PRSI are entitled to a weekly payment worth 60pc of their earnings, capped at €450. It is paid at this rate for the first 13 weeks out of work. A spokesperson for the Department of Social Protection said it provides support for workers on Short-Time Work under the Jobseeker's Benefit scheme. "This is an income support payment for those who have been temporarily placed on a shorter working week by their employer and which has worked effectively in response to challenges facing businesses," they said. "Pay-related Jobseeker's Benefit was introduced at the end of March. It applies to employees who become fully unemployed only."
